


A Little Bit of Magic

by NMartin



Category: American Horror Story, American Horror Story: Coven
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, F/F, foxxay - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-24
Updated: 2014-04-04
Packaged: 2018-03-20 05:39:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 10,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3638844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NMartin/pseuds/NMartin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cordelia Foxx is sent to Mrs. Robichaux's Academy of Witchcraft, one of the most important schools of magic in the Wizarding World. There she meets Misty Day, a joyful, happy girl who becomes her best friend. But, what if the feelings that the witches have for each other are not friendship, but love?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Cordelia was sitting on the first class car of the train. The four velvet seats were empty. Aunt Myrtle was in the platform, waving at her with a smile on her face. The redhead woman, who was forty years old and had been taking care of the girl for eleven years, was the only motherly figure that Cordelia had. Despite being eccentric and weird, Myrtle had been the one who had taken care of the blonde girl when the girl's mother had dropped her in the orphanage. Cordelia's mother had come to see the girl just once, but Cordelia didn't even remember it. The only thing she had from her mother was a picture and her money, an enormous quantity that she received every month. She felt sad that her mother wasn't there, waving at the girls like all the other women who stood in the platform. But, after all, she never was. Nor the day she had discovered that she was a witch, nor the day she had received her school's letter. Cordelia looked at her suitcase, full of clothes and books. She opened the letter that she kept in her pocket.

* * *

> _MRS. ROBICHAUX'S SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT_
> 
> Headmistress: Eleanora Robichaux XIII
> 
> Dear Mrs. Goode,
> 
> We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Mrs. Robichaux's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1 September. We await your response by no later than 31 July.
> 
> Yours sincerely,
> 
> Cecily Pembroke,
> 
> Deputy Headmistress
> 
> * * *
> 
> _MRS. ROBICHAUX'S SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT_
> 
> Headmistress: Eleanora Robichaux XIII
> 
> CLOTHING
> 
> First-year students will require:
> 
> 1\. Winter uniform
> 
> 2\. Summer uniform
> 
> 3\. School's tracksuit
> 
> 4\. Coat for day wear - Black
> 
> 5\. One pair of leather gloves - Black
> 
> 6\. One winter coat – Black
> 
> All of the items can be found in Mrs.  Please note that all students' clothes should carry name tags.
> 
> OTHER EQUIPMENT
> 
> Students can also bring, if they desire, a cat (MUST BE DOMESTICATED).
> 
> Yours sincerely,
> 
> Cecily Pembroke,
> 
> Deputy Headmistress

* * *

“Excuse me.” Cordelia heard from the door. “Is this seat taken?”

“No.” Cordelia answered, looking at the girl. She was older than her, of approximately fifteen years old, and had brown skin, green eyes and curly black hair. She sat on the spot opposite to Cordelia. “I’m Annaleah LaFaye, fifth grade.”

“Cordelia Goode, first grade.”

“Goode? Like professor Goode?”

“Professor Goode?”

“Yeah. She’s like the greatest witch ever in the story of the school. She only teaches to the best students of the academy, and being one of her protégées is like being a member of Mensa. You will recognize her when you see her; she overshadows every other teacher in the school. Do you think you could be one of her students? I’ve been practicing a lot this summer so I can pass her test. She does it to all the girls in the fifth grade, and only two or three actually pass it. It’s your first year here?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, how cute. Have you practiced for the test?”

“A test?”

“Duh!” the girl said, rolling her eyes. Cordelia looked to her aunt for the last time before the train started to move, the same way the other girl greeted her mother before turning to her and saying “The initial test is what decides in which kind of classes we’re going to go. There are three kinds of witches in the school: Black witches, who possess powers related to death; White witches, who have powers related to life; and Element witches, who have skills related to the four elements. I am a black witch, obviously. My powers are Injury Transference and Black Widow. And you?”

“I’m…  I’m a potionmaker.”

“Oh… okay.” Annaleah said, disdain starting to glow in her eyes. Potionmakers weren’t a popular kind of witches in the school, for what the older girl’s reaction was. “So you’re going to be an Element witch… I think I’m going to go to… to the bathr-” A crash was heard in the compartment causing Cordelia to close her eyes and cover her head. Her black cat jumped from the shelf on the girls head, who run away screaming from terror. It wasn’t until she saw the girl who had appeared there when she returned to her normal position. The blonde girl was wearing a long, brown dress, and was covering her shoulders with a navy blue shawl, and had an old travel bag in her hands.

“Oh, hi!” she said, looking around her. “Tell me this is the train to the academy, please.”

“Yes, for Mrs. Robichaux’s.”

“Thank God, I thought I’d lost it.” the girl said, sitting in one of the seats. “Damn, this feels good. Is this first class? You the rich ones have everything here! I’m Misty, by the way. Is this your cat?” she said, grabbing the feline and putting it on her lap.

“Cordelia Goode. And yes, it’s my cat. Her name is Bee. Did you just appear on the train?”

“Kinda… Yeah.”

“Oh. It’s your first year too?”

“Yeah! It’s kinda exciting, don’t ya think?”

“I suppose.” Cordelia said, looking through the window. “Why aren’t you wearing the uniform?”

“I couldn’t afford to buy it, so I have to wait until they give me one at the school.” Misty said with a smile. “It looks nice, tho.” she said. It was a black outfit, with white socks and shirt. “We ain’t got to wear that tie, do we?”

“Yes we do.”

“Ugh.” Misty made with a horrified face. They heard a man’s voice from the corridor, asking the girls for their tickets. “Oh, shit! I ain’t got a first class ticket.”

“What?!”

“Yup, I’m on the economy class. I think I’ll have to go before he kicks me outta here. Bye!” she said, before disappearing again. Cordelia sat there, her mouth still open. The girl couldn’t believe what had just happened. Her eyes still focused on the seat that Misty had chosen. _What a strange girl,_ she thought to herself.


	2. Black Envelopes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: Suicide attempt, blood.

”Cordelia!” Misty shouted, running upstairs. She bumped into two older boys, accidentally dropping their books “Oops, sorry.” she mumbled without stopping. She ran through the halls of the school, excitement traveling through her body. She had two black envelopes in her hand, both of then with silver words written on them. She finally arrived to the last corridor she had to go through before arriving to her room. The space, shared with three more girls, was bigger than the whole hut she had in the swamp. The walls were painted in black and green, with the school's coat of arms drawn in one of them. Cordelia, one of her roommates and her best friend, was lying on one of the beds, her earphones on and her eyes closed. She was singing a soft, sad song.

_I've been good and I've been kind, Mother,_   
_Doing only what I learned from you._   
_Why then am I left behind, Mother,_   
_Is there something more that I should do?_   
_What is wrong with me, Mother?_   
_Something must be wrong._   
_I wish-_

“Cordelia!” Misty exclaimed, running through the room to the corner of Cordelia's bed. The girl gasped with surprise, feeling her heart beat fast inside her chest. Suddenly Misty was sitting on the bed next to her, with a smile on her face. “Cordelia, look! I'm going to do professor Goode's test next week! Here's yours.” she said, giving one to Cordelia. “Maybe we could do it together!”

“Oh god, that would be wonderful!” Cordelia answered. She had known the girl for five years, and still was amazed at how Misty got excited by everything, even a small thing like a black envelope. Cordelia knew that Misty didn’t care of entering the club of professor Goode’s protégées, but she knew that Misty had made an application just to be with her best friend. Cordelia opened her envelope and read the letter. “Dear Miss Cordelia Goode, I’m sorry to inform you that you have not been accepted for the Seven Wonders test held during the fifth year on the school. There is rigorous competition to do it and your application was not among those that I accepted. I encourage you to apply to other magical classes and I wish you success with your studies and beyond. Yours truly, Fiona Goode.”

“What does that mean?”

“I’m not doing the test. I haven’t been accepted.”

“But professor Goode always accepts everyone. There’s must been an error or something.”

“No, there’s not.” Cordelia snapped. “I’m not powerful enough to be a Supreme, everyone knows that.”

“But you are. I think that you are an amazing witch!”

“Misty, stop it. I am not a Supreme. My only power is to make potions, and that’s not even a good skill. You are a necromancer, I just can grow plants.”

“That’s not true. I know that there’s something inside you that is really capable of doing something great. Remember when you told me that you had that weird feeling with the chandelier of Mrs. Dreadson’s classroom and that same day it fell off the ceiling? Or when you knew what questions were going to be asked in Mme. Morrison’s test? Maybe you haven’t discovered it yet.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Of course, Dee. Do you think I’m going to pass the test?”

“Of course you will. You’re a great witch. You saved me, remember?” she said, grabbing the girl’s hand carefully. They were sitting with their legs crossed, facing each other, like she usually did for hours, studying and reading books together. Being the only two orphans at the school, they understood each other like no one else did. Misty’s gaze focused on Cordelia’s wrists, now covered with small bandages. “C’mon, let me see.” she said, slowly turning the palm upward and caressing it with the tips of her fingers. She slowly began to take the bandage off, revealing the scars hidden under it. “Look at that. They’re almost gone.” she said with a warm smile on her face. It had happened almost a month ago, during Christmas.

* * *

**_\- DECEMBER 25TH, 1996 -_ **

Misty was returning the library, walking carelessly with some books on her hands and listening to Stevie with the music player that Cordelia had given to her. _Edge of Seventeen_ was playing when she entered her bedroom and saw Danielle and Ginevra, her roommates, banging on the bathroom door.

“What’s happening?”

“It’s Cordelia. She got in there more than an hour ago and she won’t open the door.”

“Delia?!” Misty quaked, pushing the girls aside and starting to bang on the door. “Go and find some teacher. Now!” she ordered one of the girls. “Cordelia! Cordelia, please, open the door!” she shouted. She knew exactly what had happened. Hank Foxx had been Cordelia’s boyfriend for over a year. For what Misty knew, he was three years older than her and had wanted to sleep with the witch since the start of their relationship. Cordelia, on the other side, didn’t even want to think about it. Cordelia didn’t feel prepared. _That stupid asshole, I’m going to fucking kill him._ On the other side of the door, Cordelia didn’t answer. “Delia, please, open the door! Delia!” She stepped aside and studied the door. _Mahogany. Swings inward. Oh God Cordelia… C’mon Misty, think, think, think! Damn, this door is probably built to last a hundred years. Oh God, what is she doing there? Is she…_ Misty stood sideways, with her right leg close to the door. She kicked it, again and again in the exact same spot, until the door fell to the floor. Misty heard Danielle scream behind her, but her mind was focused on Cordelia. She was lying on the floor, her eyes closed and her skin as white as snow. She was still wearing the school’s uniform, with her shirt stained with blood. A small blade was on the floor. “Cordelia!” Misty screamed, running towards the girl and kneeling next to her. “Cordelia. Cordelia, please, say something.” she said, approaching the girl’s body to hers and taking her in her arms. “Cordelia, please. Open your eyes. Don’t leave me alone.” She heard footsteps approaching the room. “Don’t leave me!” she cried as she felt energy travel through her body. Tears were running through her face, blurring her vision. She suddenly felt weak, she could feel the room began to spin. She closed her eyes, falling unconscious at the same time that Cordelia opened her eyes.


	3. Pyrokinesis

“Okay, we have seven days to try and make you dominate the Seven Wonders. In this book it says that the first Wonder that you'll have to perform is pyrokinesis.” Cordelia said, sitting under a tree and reading a big, black book she had found in the library.

“Pyrokinesis? Like making things burn and that stuff?”

“Yes.”

“But we don't study that kind of magic!” Misty complained. “And I ain't got pyrokinetical powers! How am I going to perform something that I haven't studied?” Misty said, eating one of the bagels on the basket.

“I suppose you'll have to try. Okay, try to light this candle.” Cordelia said, taking a candle from the basket and giving it to the other witch. Misty took it between her hands and focused on the candle. _C'mon, lighten... this is the easiest one, don't make me look like a fool..._ She suddenly felt Cordelia' s hand touching hers, making her blush. _Oh God, please don't make me look like an idiot in front of Cordelia,_ the witch thought. _I ain't going to make it. That candle is not going to lighten._

 _“_ C'mon Misty, you can. I believe in you.” Cordelia whispered.

 _And I love you for that,_ Misty answered mentally. She had been in love with her best friend for over a year now. She had realized it when Hank, that older guy, had asked Cordelia out. It had been on a warm autumn day, Misty remembered.

* * *

She was playing to bring the fallen leavesback to life once and again. The students of their age had decided to do a picnic to celebrate the start of the new school year, and all of them were scattered on the school's fields, playing games and practicing magic when Hank and his friends appeared looking for a soccer ball that they had seemed to lose there. None of the guys seemed to notice the skills that the girls had. From the moment she saw him, Misty knew that he was a jackass. He was wearing a high school jacket and that disgusting smile on his face, just like his friends. She heard the girls become silent, looking at the older boys and whispering. She looked at Cordelia. She was sitting under that same tree and had raised her eyes from the book and looked at them too. Like in one of those stupid romantic movies, Misty could see how Cordelia, the stereotypical nerdy student, had fallen in love with the jock of the neighboring school. She felt the leaves die again under her hands.

“Uh, ladies… have any of you seen a soccer ball here? We accidentally kicked it too hard and it got into your school's fields.”

“No.” Misty heard someone say.

“But we can help you look for it.” another girl added, causing the students to giggle. “I'm Mara.” she said approaching the boys. Some of the girls did the same, while the others started giggling idiotically. Misty lowered her gaze to the dead leaves, not wanting to see how Cordelia looked at him. A few minutes later, she heard someone approach.

“Hi.” Hank said, suddenly sitting next to Cordelia. “I'm Hank. Hank Foxx.”

“Cordelia Goode. And she’s Misty.”

“Nice to meet you, Cordelia. What are you reading?”

“ _The Witches of Eastwick._ ”

“Wasn't that a movie?”

“Yeah, it's based on this book.”

“Oh, right. So you study in Mrs. Robichaux's?” he asked, disgust slowly appearing on his face. The school had become infamous after the murder of one of the teachers, Anna-Leigh Leighton, who had been found brutally murdered in her office. Someone had cut her throat, and the killer hadn't been found.

“Uh, yes. But I don't like it here. It's a creepy place.”

“I was thinking... would you like to go out someday?”

“Like... a date?” Cordelia asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah. Maybe I could come pick you up on Friday and go to the movies?”

“Yes.” Cordelia said with a shy smile.

“What kind of movies do you like? There's this new movie, _Seven_ , and maybe we could go and see it together. It's about two detectives who hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his modus operandi and that kind of stuff. Sounds good?”

“Yes, it sounds great!”

 _Liar,_ Misty thought, looking at her best friend. They had started to talk joyfully, leaving Misty apart. The girl stood up and walked away. Cordelia quickly looked at her friend, who had decided to give them some privacy. Or that's what she thought. _You are a liar, Cordelia Goode. You love to be here, with this big bedroom that we have. You love to study all the magic that we learn here. You love to be out of that orphanage. Why are you lying, Cordelia? Why are you telling him lies about who you are? You don't like sports. You've never cared about football or soccer. I don't know who you are right now,_ Misty kept thinking. When she finally arrived to the school's building,tears were already running down her face. _What is happening to me?_ She asked herself, running to the bedroom. _Why am I so sad? Is it because of Cordelia? I shouldn't be sad because of her, she looked really happy while talking to him._

_To him._

_Not me._

Misty looked through the window. She still could see the boy talking to her friend, both of them smiling at looking at each other. She saw his hand touching Cordelia’s. Misty wanted to kill him. She wanted to see him burn.

* * *

“You’ve made it!” Cordelia belted with a smile. Misty looked around her, suddenly realizing that her gaze was lost in the candle’s flame. “Misty, you’ve made it.” Cordelia said, looking at Misty with a smile. The other girl had her gaze still focused on the candle’s flame. Cordelia’s smile disappeared instantly. She could sense something was wrong. She had never seen Misty so focused, so sad. “Misty, are you okay?”

 _I can’t tell her,_ Misty thought. _I can’t tell her that I love her._

“Yeah. Let’s try again.”


	4. Telekinesis

“Six days to go!” Cordelia said, sitting on the bed next to Misty. Unlike the rest of day, today Cordelia was the joyful one of the two girls. “Hey Misty, are you even listening to me?”

“Huh?” Misty said. She didn’t want to do anything today, at least not with Cordelia. She hadn't slept all night, thinking about the other girl and her feelings towards her. Cordelia still had to heal her wounds before having a normal life again. “Yes, emm... What are we practicing today?”

“Today you’ll be doing telekinesis.”

“Moving things? But that’s an easy one.”

“Yeah, but you have to practice.” the girl said, getting a pile of books and putting them on the bed. She had marked them with post-it notes of different colors. “Okay, move the green one.” She said, and a moment after the book was flying through the room. They spent the whole morning making objects move, until it was time to have lunch. Grabbing her crutches and slowly making her way through the school's corridors, they went to the dining room and took a seat. Cordelia spent all the time trying to make Misty laugh, joking and fooling around, trying to forget the pain on her still-healing ankle. She looked at the other girl, who was remained on the food. _What is wrong with her today? She's been acting weird since yesterday. What have I done to her to be mad at me?_

“Miss Goode?” they heard Spalding's throaty voice. “If you would be kind enough to accompany me to the front door, there's someone who wants to talk with you.” the butler continued. After saying goodbye to Misty and grabbing her crutches, she finally arrived to the door. It wasn't a surprise for Cordelia to see aunt Myrtle standing there, talking with Eleanora Robichaux, the headmistress. After the “Christmas accident”, as the adults used to call it, she had felt how everyone looked at her differently, with pity instead of disdain, but no one had told her anything else about the topic, and aunt Myrtle had decided to give her alone time. What she didn't expect to see Hank standing behind the redhead woman, escorted by his father and two men dressed with black suits.

“What is he doing here?” Cordelia asked, suddenly panicking. After tumbling a little, she grabbed the crutches tightly and went besides the redheaded woman.

“We're here to discuss my son's presumed guilt.” the old man replied.

“Presumed? Your son abused one of my students, Mister.” Mrs. Robichaux said.

“Can we talk about this in private, please? Your office, maybe?”

“Yes. Follow me.” the woman said, making her way to the stairs. “You too, Cordelia.” she said, looking at the girl with a kind smile. The thirteenth descendant of the Robichaux family, named Eleanora like all of her predecessors, was a thin, old woman with black hair and blue eyes. She wasn't the most graceful woman in the school (that honor was professor Goode's) but she sure looked magnificent. Despite being more that sixty years old, her face wasn't full of wrinkles like aunt Myrtle's, and her smile was still perfect. After some minutes of walking through the school's halls, they finally arrived to the woman's enormous office. “Please take a seat.” she said, entering the space and sitting behind the mahogany desk. Cordelia sat opposite to her, suddenly realizing how the woman looked like the Eleanora Robichaux XII, her mother and former headmistress of the school. “Now that everyone involved on the case is here,” she said looking at Hank's father. “We need to discuss the punitive measures we'll be taking.”

“The court has already started to study the case, Mrs. Robi-”

“I know that there's a case in the court, but I didn't mean that. As you know, law in this country is sexist towards women and continues blaming the victim instead of the raper, using excuses for this behavior like _Boys will be boys_ or _She was asking for it._ But as we can see, this young man is not a boy anymore and this girl was not asking for it.”

“Mrs. Robichaux what are you sugg-”

“You're. Not. Going. To. Interrupt. Me. Again.” she said, make a small gesture with her hand. The man's mouth suddenly closed, like if someone had closed an invisible zip, muffling his voice. He finally gave up on talking. “As I was saying, on Christmas eve Cordelia arrived to the building crying. It was almost noon on the moment of her arrival. That morning she had been on a date with Hank, as her roommates explained to me, a date that took place on the gardens of Delphi Trust's College. Am I right, Mr. Foxx?” she questioned, looking at Hank.

“Yes, ma'am.”

“Three people (Spalding, our butler; Delphine, our cook; and Queenie, one of the students) explained that she limped and had scratches on her face and arms at the moment of her arrival. When we brought her to the hospital we were told that she had a broken ankle and clear signals of sexual assault. Following the doctor's advice, she was brought back to the academy the next day, when she later auto-injured herself and had to be brought to the hospital for a second time.

While on the normal court it would take years to finally punish this young man with what I would consider a minimal sentence, in this school we only have waited a month, enough time for Cordelia to start healing her wounds both physically and psychologically. Do you feel okay with having this talk today, Mis Goode?”

“Yes.” Cordelia whispered, looking at her lap. She ran a finger on the small bandages that still covered her wrists. “I'm ready.”

* * *

Three hours later Cordelia was back in her bedroom, waiting for her roommates to come back from their classes. She was lying on the bed with her eyes closed when she heard the door open. She heard Danielle and Ginevra's voices, saying hello and telling sarcastically that she had missed a very exciting class on medicinal plants. It was then when Misty entered the room. She dropped her backpack next to her bed and ran to sit next to Cordelia.

“Are you okay, Dee?”

“Yes. I don't want to talk about it.”

“Okay. Do you want me to do anything for you? I can go to the kitchen and make a tea or something.”

“I could use a hug.”

“A hug?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” she said, lying next to the girl and taking her between her arms. She ignored the other two roommates looks, knowing that the girls were observing them. She couldn't care less. “Is this okay?” she asked with a soft voice.

“Yes. Thank you.”


	5. Divination

“Dee.” she heard Misty whisper. “Are you awake?”

“No.”

“It’s only three days until I do the seven wonders.”

“I know.” Cordelia whispered. It was three in the morning and the girls were lying on their beds with their eyes closed. Cordelia couldn’t help but think about the questions Mrs. Robichaux had made to her days ago. Most of them were related to her feelings towards Hank, while another ones were about what direction their relationship had gone.

 “Misty?” she whispered seconds later.

“What?”

“I can't sleep.”

“Why?”

“I'm scared.

“Of what?”

“Of not being good enough.”

“Dee, you are more than good enough, you are great.”

“No I'm not.”

“Yes you are. I believe in you.”

“Okay.”

* * *

 

“Five days until the test!” Cordelia whispered, taking a seat on the enormous  library of the school. “Today we're practicing divination. Yes, I know that you already can control it. But-”

“You want me to be fully prepared, I know. What do I have to do? And why the hell are we in the library?”

“In the test you'll have to use a pile of pebbles to find an hidden item belonging to the different headmistresses, so I've hidden some things between the books, like jewelry or small objects.” she explained while taking a small box out her backpack and putting it on the table. She opened it and scattered a pile of small stones in the table. “Here you have the pebbles.”

“Okay. What's the first thing?”

“The first object belonged to my Aunt Myrtle.”

Misty focused in the pebbles, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply. A blurred image started appearing on her mind. A redheaded woman, with strange looks and funny hair, talked to a five-year old Cordelia. She couldn't hear what she was saying, but she suddenly saw the necklace the woman wore. She focused on the necklace, knowing that it was the object.

“It's on the third shelf of the section B of the library, next to a necromancy book.”

“Correct! She gave it to me when I was little, saying that it would protect me. Now, an object that belongs to Ginevra.”

Again, the Cajun girl closed her eyes, hovering her hand over the pebbles. Ginevra, with her dark hair nicely tied in a ponytail, hugged and kissed her former boyfriend Eric.

“Inside one the last drawer of Mrs. Pollock's desk. It's the teddy bear that Eric gave her on Valentine's day last year. I thought that after breaking up with him she didn't keep it anymore.”

“No, she still loves him.”

“Oh.”

* * *

 

“Okay, this is the last one. If you find it you'll have found all of the things I've hidden correctly. The last object is the only thing I have that belonged to my mother.”

Misty didn't need to use the pebbles to know what was that object. She had seen it tons of times, on Cordelia’s bedside table. Sometimes, when everyone was supposed to be sleeping, Misty heard her friend cry for hours, and when she got up, the girl had the ring on her hands. It was a small, black ring, with a tiny white diamond on it. She focused on the pebbles, trying to decode the hiding place of the ring.

“It's in a box, but not in the library.”

“No, it's here.”

“No, Cordelia, I'm telling you. I'm seeing your ring, the one with the inscription inside. It's on a white room, like an office, and there's a luxurious desk and furniture.” she explained, still with her eyes closed and visualizing the space. “There's a big portrait of a blonde woman on it, but it's blurry and I can't recognize her. Your ring is inside a black box, on a room somewhere in the academy.”

“No, Misty, the ring is here. Look,” she said, standing up and dissapearing behind the shelves. Seconds later she appeared back again with the ring on her hand. “It's here, Misty.” she repeated. “Between two books.”

“But I saw it on a desk...”

“Maybe you got confused.” Cordelia stated, sitting again. “Anyway, don't worry. You got all of the other objects right!” she continued, smiling widely while she collected the pebbles and put them in the box again.

* * *

 

They skipped dinner and sat alone in their room, talking about the potions and crafts they had to do for that week’s assignment, but Cordelia couldn’t help but notice that Misty seemed to be absent, as if something worried her. It was almost time for the other girls to finish their meal and get there.

“I don’t want to become a Supreme, Dee.” Misty finally said with a serious tone.

“Why not?”

“I don’t want to, that’s it.”

“But Misty, think about it: If you become a Supreme, you’ll have the power to change a lot of things here. You’ll be the first Element witch to succeed on the seven wonders, and you’ll show everyone that we’re worth it. It will be amazing.”

“No, it won’t. Supremes have to go to different classes, and they live apart from the other students.”

“We can still text, and we’ll see each other in holidays, if that’s what worries you.”

“No, Cordelia. The Supremes don’t go home for the holidays. They have to travel a lot and they live isolated from the rest of the world! Don’t you understand?” she said with a crack on her voice. “If I become a Supreme I won’t see you again, Cordelia!” Misty yelled, bursting into tears. Cordelia tried to hug her friend, but the girl moved away between sobs. “And I-I don’t want to be a Supreme if I have to leave you behind.”

“I’m your best friend, Misty, but I’m not important enough for you to miss that chance. I don’t matter.” Cordelia said. It was the first time she saw Misty cry, and it broke her heart into a million pieces.

“Yes you do! You matter to me!”

“Why? I’m not worth it, Misty! You have the power of Resurgence, but I’m just a potionmaker!”

“But I can’t stand the thought of not being with you, Cordelia. Because I love you so much that it hurts!”

“You…”

Suddenly everything was crystal clear to Cordelia. Why Misty had supported her every time she thought she was a failure. Why Misty had taken the blame when Cordelia had done something wrong. Why Misty hated to see her happy with Hank so much.

“You…” Cordelia whispered. “You love me?”


	6. Concilium

“Yes.” Misty finally said some minutes later. She walked to her bed and sat on it before keep talking. “I do love you, Dee. I've loved you since our first year here, but I was an idiot and didn't realize it until you started dating Hank.”

“Is that why you hated him?”

“Yes. But I think I always knew he was up to something. I never liked him. From the moment he appeared on the grounds of the school.”

“I actually thought he was different.” Cordelia said, taking a seat next to her. “He was strong, and he cared of me. I thought he would never do anything to hurt me... but he did.”

“You don’t have to tell me about that if you don’t want to.” The truth was that they had never talked about it.

“I know. You have been so caring with me, treating me so nicely and being so good, and I’m truly sorry but right now I can't-”

“I know.” Misty interrupted. “You can't be in a relationship right now, and I accept that. That's why I didn't say anything before. I don’t want you to get more hurt.” Misty stated, looking at her own hands that rested on her lap. “Your heart has to heal, Cordelia. I just want you to know that I’ll be there for you whenever you need me.”

“Does that mean that we’re still going to be friends?” Cordelia asked. Misty looked to the floor, mentally thinking about her options. _What does she mean?_ Her fingers played with the shawl of her shoulders. _Like, are we still going to be friends as ‘friends until I heal and can be with you’ or ‘friends because I don’t love you’? Probably that second one._

“Yeah.”

* * *

 

“Concilium,” Cordelia read the next day. She and Misty, along with Lorraine and Johanna, were sitting on the grass under a tree. “it's the imposition of one's will onto another. Also called mind control. It can be resisted, though doing so causes increasing intracranial pressure to the point of explosion.”

“That last line was very helpful.” Lorraine said sarcastically.

“Relax, you're not going to have to resist it, Misty is not going to make do anything awkward.”

“Yeah. I'm innocent as an alligator.”

“Misty!”

“What? Alligators are cute.”

“Tell me again why am I doing this?” Lorraine questioned, looking to Cordelia from behind her round glasses.

“Because you're a good friend and because I've got third-row tickets to see _Les Miserables_ in June.”

“But I'm totally doing it because I'm a good friend, of course. Now,” Lorraine said, looking at the girls with a questioning gaze. “What do I have to do?”

“Just stand there. Is Misty who has to do all the work, and she won’t be mean.”

Moments later Lorraine was dancing and singing in the middle of the library.

* * *

“I just can’t believe that there’s only four more days until you do the test.” Ginevra said. “I’ll have to wait until March.” Misty answered with a sigh.

“Misty…”

“What?”

“Is it true?”

“What?”

“That you love Cordelia.”

“Where did you get that from?”

“I was about to enter the room when I heard you tell her. I didn’t mean to, I swear.”

“It’s okay.”

“You two would be awesome together.”

“She doesn’t love me back, Gin. She likes me as a friend.”

“She loves you, okay?.”

“No, she doesn’t.”

“Trust me. She does love you.” Ginevra said before grabbing one of her books and exiting the room, leaving Misty there.


	7. Descensum

“Misty! Misty!” the swamp witch heard her roommate exclaim, trying to wake her up.

“Five minutes more...”

“Misty!” she heard again.

“Ummm?”

“Today is the day!”

“Uh?”

“Today you're performing the Seven Wonders, Misty!”

“I don't wanna...”

“Misty!”

“Okay, yes, I'm ready...”

“That's the spirit.” Cordelia told her friend. “Remember, Mrs. Goode is a strict woman. Don't talk unless she asks you to do so, and show her respect, okay?”

“Okay...”

* * *

“Miss Day?” they heard the teacher's assistant say, With shaking legs, Misty stood up and looked one last time to her best friend before walking through  the door, inhaling deeply. The teacher's office had white colored walls and was filled with luxurious furniture. A big portrait of the old woman hung behind the desk. She posed regally sitting on a chair, with her legs crossed and a cigarette on her hand. Misty contemplated the painting. The woman's face was oddly familiar, although the young witch was sure she had never seen before. It was true that she had seen the teacher in the schools halls, but she had never payed attention. Her face had no wrinkles, and her eyes were brown.

“Admiring the views, Miss Day?” she heard a voice say behind her. Misty turned around, only to discover the woman sitting on an armchair.

“The painting is beautiful.” Misty muttered.

“Speak louder.”

“I said that the painting is beautiful.”

“Of course it is, I'm on it.” the woman snapped at her. “Now, take the candlestick of the desk and light the candles.” she ordered.

“Okay...” Misty turned around and walked towards the black piece of furniture.

“Use your powers, imbecile.”

“Oh... sorry.” Misty raised her hand and focused on the candlestick. She could hear Cordelia's voice in her head, whispering ' _Stronger intent'_ softly. The candlestick flew to her hands, and seconds later the fire burned on the top of the black column of wax.

“Good.” the door opened and the red-headed assistant entered the room, bringing a box of pebbles on her hands. “Lorelai, please stay. You, use Concilium on her.”

“Okay...” Misty looked at her and imagined the girl as one of those ballerinas that wore those stupid white ballet skirts and danced on their toes.

“Nice.” the old teacher said as her assistant stopped dancing and moved to the desk, scattering the pebbles on it before getting out of the room. “Divination. Look for the most valuable object in this room.”

Misty focused in the pebbles, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply. A blurred image started appearing on her mind. A younger version of the woman, not older than twenty years old, ran through the streets of New Orleans with something in her arms, wrapped in a blanket. Her long black dress fluttered around her legs, and her messy blonde curls fell gracefully on her shoulders. She looked behind her nervously, as if she escaped from something. The package she carried uttered a cry. It was a baby, with golden hair and brown eyes like the woman. There was a flash of light, and the image changed. It was woman's hand, showing a black ring, with a tiny white diamond on it.

“It's Cordelia's ring!” Misty exclaimed, coming out of her trance, suddenly standing up as she put the pieces together. Professor Goode was over forty years old, and that flashback had happened almost twenty years ago. _Oh God, the baby… Cordelia was that baby. But that would mean that…_

“You’re Cordelia’s mother!”

“What did you just say…?” the teacher stood up and started approaching her. “What did you see?” the woman asked, grabbing the girl’s wrist and forcing her to look at her eyes. The girl stayed silent. “What did you see?!” she repeated again, twisting the student’s wrist and digging her nails on her skin. “You better start talking, little fool, before I cut your throat.” Misty panicked. Was the teacher actually threatening her? “Listen to me, young girl. Whatever you’ve seen, you are not telling anything about it to Cordelia.”

“What?! You have to tell her!”

“Or what, huh?” the woman said, lifting her hand and making the student fly across the room, hitting the wall with the back of her head before falling to the floor again. “Remember this,” the woman said. “If a single word about this conversation escapes those tiny little lips of yours when you get out of here, you’ll become the new rug of the academy. Got it?”

“She deserves to know that you are her mother!”

“SHUT UP!” the woman yelled infuriated, and before Misty could realize what was happening a dagger flew across the room and dug into her chest. The young student raised a hand to her mouth and another to her heart, feeling the silver handle of the knife against her. She tumbled backwards, trying to find something to hold onto, but she was in the middle of the room. She felt dizzy as the room started to revolve around her. She closed her eyes, exhaling one last time before hitting the floor, lifeless.

* * *

Misty opened her eyes; awakening from what seemed a nightmare and expecting to see her best friend in the bed.

"Freak!"

There were no beds. She was in a classroom, surrounded by the familiar faces of her former classmates from school. A dead frog rested on a table in front of her, waiting to be dissectioned.

_Where am I?_


	8. Transmutation

It had been 48 hours since Misty had crossed the office door, and everyone Cordelia asked told her that they didn't know where the girl was. _What's happened to her? Is she a Supreme now and that's why I can't talk to her? What if something has happened to her? What if she's been expelled or injured or..._ The young Goode's paranoia increased when she saw Professor Goode during lunch time. The teacher talked with another student, smiling arrogantly as she took a sip of her glass of wine. Cordelia sat in one of the nearest tables of the enormous dining room, looking at them with hateful eyes. Something inside her head told her that the teacher was the cause of Misty's disappearance. _Bitch,_ she thought looking at the woman. It was then when Professor Goode turned her face, their eyes meeting for a brief time. Cordelia felt a shiver run through her body. Now that she looked at her closely, she realized how oddly familiar her face was. Her round face, her brown eyes and her blonde hair were just the same as her own, although the woman had the grace that Cordelia lacked of. The bell rang and the woman walked out of the room. _I'll go see her after class,_ she promised to herself.

And she did. Two hours later the girl cleaned her potioncraft tools and ran out of the lab, heading to the teacher's office. The woman’s assistant, scandalized by the girl that approached quickly, tried to stop her. Cordelia made a furious hand movement, looking how the girl flew through the room like a piece of paper being thrown in a bin. Cordelia looked at the double doors of the office, unlocking and opening them without a second thought.

“Where's Misty Day?” Cordelia yelled furiously, walking to the woman’s desk as the doors slammed after her.

“I don’t know if you’ve realized,” the woman said without flinching. “I'm in a meeting” she said, pointing to the man that sat on an armchair in the corner of the room. He wore a long black overcoat, a black hat and sunglasses, and smiled to the girl. “And I’m your teacher, so you shouldn't talk to me like that, Miss...”

“Goode, professor. Cordelia Goode. Does that ring a bell?” the girl said firmly, sarcasm being evident on her tone. She had been scared of everyone all her life, but she knew it was time to be brave. At least for once, she had to be the person who showed courage and helped others instead of being the one who needed to be helped. She needed to find Misty.

“Oh, yes, the potionmaker.” the woman mocked her, smiling as arrogantly as she always did. “Such a failure is unforgettable. Does auntie Myrtle know you’re talking to me, dear?”

“How do you know my aunt?”

“We were good friends back in our teenage years, darling. Like you and that little bitch, but without the homoerotic connection. Why are you here, Miss Goode?”

“I’d like to know where Misty Day is.” Cordelia answered.

“She failed the Seven Wonders and decided to go back to her little hut in the swamp.” the teacher answered bitterly with a smirk. “Now you can go.” she dismissed the student.

“Liar.” Cordelia blurted out. A flash enlightened the room, blinding everyone as the curtains caught on fire. Cordelia ignored them, her eyes glowing dark as she looked to the woman. “She wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye, and we both know that. Something has happened to her, and I’ll discover what.”

“Oh, don’t make me drop a house on you, little girl.” the woman said, taking a cigarette out of her purse and approaching the curtains to lit it. Once the cigarette was lit, she made a hand movement and the curtains dropped to the floor, turning into ashes before they hit the ground. “I didn’t like them anyway.”

“Where’s Misty?”

“She’s gone.”

* * *

There was blood. There was blood, and every time Misty was forced to dissect the frog, there was more blood and her sobs became louder. Unable to stand it seeing the poor animal dead, she put her hands over it and brought it back to life again, knowing that she would have to do it again. She had tried to stop, but her hands moved automatically as pain traveled through her body. _Please, I don’t want to do this anymore,_ she begged inside her mind. The laughs of the kids surrounded her as the teacher forced her to dissect the frog again. Everything seemed blurry to the girl, she felt dizzy and wanted to go home.

* * *

“What do you mean gone?”

“She died during one of the Seven Wonders.”

“Descensum.” the girl muttered. She knew what the woman implied, she had read about it. Also known as Astral Projection, Descensum was the spiritual decent into the netherworld or afterlife, and Cordelia knew that witches were able to project themselves directly into Hell, which took form of their worst fears. And though she shivered when she thought of Misty in that situation, it wasn't that what mattered the most to her. _If a witch is stuck for a certain amount of time, -_ the book quoted- _they will never be able to leave and promptly, their body disintegrates into dust._ “It can't be possible. No, no, no.” the girl trembled, suddenly realizing the mistake she had made. Misty had convinced her of not practicing that skill, that she already knew how to do that. But that was a lie. The swamp girl had turned into dust. She was gone.


	9. Vitalum Vitalis

It was then when Cordelia saw the blood marks in the carpet, and realization hit the student. If her best friend had been turned into dust, she couldn't have bleed, so either the blood wasn't hers or Misty had died in a very different way than Cordelia had been told. Under the careful look of the teacher and the man, she knelt on the floor and touched the red liquid with her fingertips. Her second sight triggered, showing her mind what had happened two days before. Misty entering the room, doing four of the Seven Wonders and then bursting into an argument with the old woman. And then something had flown through the air, a shining dagger that had been resting on the woman's desk. In the middle of the room, Misty had fallen to the floor. Misty was dead.

“You killed her!”

“Yes I did.” the woman said with satisfaction. Killing people was kind of an obligation for her if she wanted to remain as the Supreme for more years, and she honestly didn't care that her victims were just potential supremes. She had managed to have the headmistress under her absolute control, using Concilium on her every time she could, until she had arranged a whole new way to kill every single potential supreme without having to stain her hands with blood. Once a girl crossed the door of her office, she waited for them to fail the basic wonders and dismissing them. If a girl showed that she was able to do six of the seven wonders, she just waited for them to fail in Descensum and being trapped in hell. The teacher smirked, remembering that the list of girls who had been turned into dust in that carpet was endless. “I killed Misty Day. What are you going to do, huh? Kill me?” Cordelia swallowed hard. “That won't bring her back. She's dead.” she continued.

“I can bring her back. I know I can.” Cordelia stated, making the woman laugh and roll her eyes.

“And how are you going to do that, little bitch?”

"Vitalum Vitalis.”

* * *

Two hours later, after Spalding had dug up the Cajun girl's body and brought it to the headmistress' office again, Cordelia was kneeling next to it, tears silently running down her face. Misty's angelical face, stained with mud and soil, was as pale as it could be. Her eyes were shut and her lips were slightly parted, and if Cordelia ignored the wound and the endless blood that stained the witch's dress, she could think that she was just sleeping. She didn't want to believe it, but she knew it was her turn to be brave. _I love her,_ she thought.

“If you love her so much, then save her.” she heard the teacher say, sitting on an armchair next to the mysterious man. He hadn't said a word since Cordelia had interrupted his conversation with the professor, but Cordelia had the sensation that he was familiar to her. “Or are you too useless to do that?” the teacher continued.

Sick of feeling mocked and underrated, Cordelia wiped her tears with the sleeve of her black dress and inhaled deeply, approaching her face to Misty's. _Viltalum Vitalis_ , a little voice explained in her head, quoting her text books. _The balancing of scales between one life force and another. Witches can transfer their own life force to dead or nearly dead people in order to heal them. Can also be used to drain life force as well._ It was her last opportunity to bring her friend back. She gave a last look to the girl's face before closing her eyes and hovering Misty's lips with her own. She let out a soft breath and prayed that the girl would open her eyes. But she didn't. With panic starting to take over her body, she closed her eyes again and tried again, grabbing her friend's cold hand and breathing into her lips. Misty didn't wake up.

“Oh, what a shame. I guess we'll have to bury her corpse again.” the professor said sarcastically.

“No. One more time, please.” Cordelia begged, raising her gaze. The woman raised an eyebrow but stood where she was. Cordelia turned to look again to her friend, whispering a soft “I love you” before hovering her lips on Misty's one last time. She exhaled, suddenly feeling tired and dizzy. For a moment she thought that the room had started spinning, until she saw the swamp witch's eyes open and look at her.

“C-C-Cordelia?” the girl muttered.

“Yes.” was the last thing Cordelia managed to say before closing her eyes.

* * *

Cordelia woke up alone in her bedroom, covered with the soft sheets of her bed. Her forehead burned, she had an awful headache and her vision was blurry, but she could still tell that Misty was sitting on the edge of the bed, watching her sleep.

“Hi.” the wild-haired girl muttered when she saw that Cordelia had regained her consciousness. “How are you?”

“How much time I've been sleeping?”

“Three days.”

“Oh.”

“How are you?” Misty asked again.

“Okay, I guess.” Cordelia answered as she sat up on the bed and moved next to Misty. “A little bit tired. And you?”

“I'm alive, so really well.” she said with a smile, shrugging. Cordelia raised her hand and reached for Misty's, intertwining their fingers together and letting their hands rest on her lap. “Thanks for saving m-” the girl started.

“I couldn't stand to live without you.” Cordelia interrupted her, knowing that she should talk before all her courage dissipated. Misty looked at her, questioning what her words meant with her gaze. “I am probably still not ready to be in a relationship right now, but I think I love you, Misty, and I don't want to wait. I've needed to lose you to realize it, and I'm really sorry about it. But I hope you can forgive me.”

Without exchanging any other word, Misty leaned in and pressed their lips together in a quick kiss. Cordelia quickly felt her cheeks burning and turning red, and smiled when the swamp girl's lips left her own and whispered a soft 'I love you'. She leaned to kiss her back again, this time more slowly but as gently as she could.

“So you forgive me?” Cordelia asked some minutes later, when they finally stopped placing soft kisses in each other's lips.

“Of course I do.” the girl replied. “But I think there's something you should know...”

“What?”

“When I was doing the Seven Wonders, I was doing the divination test when professor Goode and I-”

“Started arguing. I know that.”

“You know?”

“I think I have a Second Sight.”

“Oh, okay. Then you know that...”

“She killed you. Yes, I know.”

“No, I meant if you know that she's-”

“Here.” Cordelia said, her jaw dropping as she saw the teacher enter their shared bedroom. Her black heels clicked on the room's floor, making Cordelia's headache worse with every step she took. “What are you doing here?”


	10. The Supreme

“Making sure that my secrets are kept.” she snapped, and with a hand movement she sent Misty away, flying through the room to the farthest corner. Cordelia quickly stood up and tried to run to her friend, but found herself paralyzed, as if some invisible ropes tied her to the bed. “No, darling. You're not moving a muscle until I finish talking.”

“Don't you dare touch her!” Misty yelled.

“Oh, shut up.” the woman snapped, and with another hand movement Misty was paralyzed too. The girl's mouth suddenly closed, as if someone had closed an invisible zip, muffling her voice. “Anyway, I'm not gonna touch her.” the woman continued. She turned and faced her daughter, a smirk on her face that indicated that she was up to no good. “Maybe I was wrong about you, Miss Goode. Maybe you're not as big a failure as I thought.”

“What do you mean?” Cordelia's voice trembled.

“Have you realized that you performed four of the Seven Wonders when you entered, outraged, in my office?”

“Did I?”

“Don't try to play tricks with me, little girl. You know you did. You're just a potionmaker, when did you acquire those skills?”

“I had never moved things with my mind, if that's what you ask.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, professor Goode.”

“Why do you think you could move things the other day?”

“I guess I'm not useless.”

“Don't try to use my words against me, little bitch.”

“Don't call me a bitch.” Cordelia muttered.

“Don't talk to me like that.”

“Or what?”

“Or I'll hurt your friend.”

“No!” Cordelia cried. But it was too late, and Misty had started to float in the air, writhing in pain as she felt how the already closed wound started to open again. Cordelia felt her eyes becoming teary, her friend's muffled screams echoing inside her mind. _Do it, Cordelia. Beg me to stop torturing your girlfriend,_ the woman said telepathically, her brown eyes fixed on Cordelia's as she smirked. Cordelia closed her eyes and covered her ears, trying to focus on how to save Misty. The professor made one of her hand movements and Misty's screams filled the room.

“Please stop!” Cordelia finally begged.

“Okay.” the girl dropped to the ground with a thud. “Love is weakness, Delia.”

“No it's not.”

“Yes it is. You've begged and I've stopped.” the woman sat on a chair. “Now, Miss Goode, are you going to be good and show me respect?”

“No.” the girl answered.

“Okay then.” and a second later Misty was back in the air, her body twisting. Cordelia cried, until Misty fell to the floor again.

“You're a bitch.”

“Oh, yes I am.” the woman chuckled.

“You deserve nothing.”

“I deserve everything, Miss Goode. I'm the Supreme.”

“You've killed innocent girls!”

“You don't get what you want without spilling blood.”

“Your classes in this school were just bullshit so you could kill potential supremes, right?”

“Such a smart girl.”

“You're a murderer.”

“I thought that was obvious.”

“This is so wrong. I shouldn't be here.”

“No you shouldn't. But you should be thankful that I let you enter the academy.”

“If you die before thanksgiving we will all have something to be thankful for.”

The sight of Cordelia's face, her eyes stabbed in with a pair of scissors, was something that Misty was sure she wouldn't forget. One of the drawers of the desk that the girls used to study had suddenly opened, and the cutting tool had flown straight to the girl's face. Cordelia screamed, an inhuman sound that was nothing but pain. She was bleeding, the red liquid staining her face and the white sheets of her bed. She stood up, taking the scissors out of her eyes with another scream, and then fell on her knees. Misty's restraints suddenly vanished and she ran next to the girl, taking her between her arms as she looked to the woman. She wanted to kill Fiona Goode. She wished to burn her at the stake, to stab her with a million knifes, to make it impossible for her to move as the armchair she was sitting in started to burn. And her last wish was fulfilled.

It was then when Cordelia heard the woman's screams in the darkness, and felt a heat wave filling the room. She instantly noted the presence of something non-human in the room; a spirit from hell. She had read about him, but she didn't believe he actually existed -even though she had seen him with her own eyes before. _Papa Legba._

“Well, darling.” she heard the spirit's voice say, making the woman's voice die for a second. “You have to admit that your daughter and that friend of hers have guts.” Cordelia turned around, forgetting about her aching eyes and trying to process what she had just heard.


	11. Epilogue

It was six in the morning, and Cordelia and Misty walked through the house's gardens with their fingers intertwined.

“Who would have said that such a beautiful place would be a house of witches...” Cordelia sighed, admiring the building's white walls that were enlightened by the sunrise. The house was just a smaller version of the enormous academy located a few miles away, but it still had the same magical spirit.

“I'm gonna miss Ma'am Leighton.” Misty stated with sadness. Anna Leigh Leighton had been a great Supreme, and everyone in the coven prayed for her to survive the cancer that had been destroying her crippled immune system. But the truth was that a new, young, healthy and beautiful Supreme flowered as the current regnant's life  force gradually faded.

“Me too.”

“It was very nice of them to send us near my swamp, I really missed it.”

“Yes, although I wish we had visited New York. They say that witches there have apartments next to Central Park.”

“Who needs Central Park when we've got the swamp?”

“You've got a point there.”

“Today's the day.”

“I know.” Cordelia sighed.

“Don't be sad, Dee, we're gonna be the first supremes to coexist in the same coven, and we're going to be able to teach potioncrafting to a lot of girls! Aren't you happy?”

“Yes I am, love. I just...”

“What?”

“Today is my birthday.”

“Yeah. You're turning twenty one. What's wrong with that?”

“I wonder who is the one sending me those dresses.”

Every year for her birthday, a package was delivered. A black box with no sender address that was left in the door of her room by the maid. Its content didn't change from year to year. A black dress with a note that said _'Your taste in clothes is a complete failure'._ And just that.

“It can't be your mother, Cordelia.” Misty said, not needing to read the girl's mind to know what she was thinking. The potionmaker had been wondering the same during the last five years. “She's dead, we saw her die.”

Because Fiona Goode had died, and no one could change that. After spending sixteen years thinking that she was an orphan, Cordelia had met and lost her mother in a matter of a year. Sure, she had known the woman since she was eleven, but she had ignored her existence until she was rejected to do the test. Fiona knew that the girl was her daughter since the beginning, Cordelia was sure of that. Fiona Goode had abandoned and blinded her, but the girl found it impossible to fully hate her. The day after the woman's death, when Aunt Myrtle came to the academy, she had been explained that the deceased Supreme Goode had made a deal with Papa Legba during her youth, exchanging immortality for a life in solitude. Solitude, a word that Cordelia had thought was the story of her life, was actually both her own and her mother's curse.

 _“The deal,”_ the guardian of the afterlife's doors had explained, _“was that your mother would be young and beautiful forever but would be lonely all her live. She would have many lovers, but she would never find true love. She would have friends, but would always feel alone. And the most important thing, her bloodline would end with her. But with you, dear,”_ he said smiling to Cordelia. _“she broke our deal.”_

 _“When she got pregnant,”_ he continued moments later. “ _she begged me to make an exception. She offered to give everything she had to let you live. But a deal is a deal, and it can't be broken. When you were born, she started to age again and decided to leave you with her only true friend,”_ he had looked at Myrtle. _“because keeping you next to her meant that she wouldn't live her life in solitude anymore, and her immortality would be vanished. No human is immortal, and you witches don't seem to realize that.”_

_“When she found that you were a witch too and attended this school, she realized that even though she had tried to keep herself away from you, she had failed. With her vanity and greed, she also condemned you, Cordelia Goode. You are an unexpected life in the balance of life and dead, and for that you were punished with infertility. You're not going to be able to give birth to another child, and all of your daughters and sons will be in hell before they're even conceived.”_

After blaming her mother for years, Cordelia had finally realized that it wouldn't change anything. She had finally accepted that she would never be a mother. She was still young to consider having kids, although when she had been given the bad news Misty had quickly offered to have their kids. Cordelia smiled at the thought of having children with the swamp witch, and then quickly remembered the small box that was waiting in the drawer of her bedside table. _When the Anna-Leigh dies_ , she thought, _I'll ask Misty to marry me._

“What are you thinking about?” the swamp with asked, getting Cordelia out of her musings. They had stopped walking and stood face to face in the garden.

“I was thinking that I really love you.” she said, her mismatched eyes finding Misty's before she leaned to kiss her. _What a strange girl I've decided to love,_ she thought to herself.


End file.
